


A Thorned Rose Called Love

by kaseybaby



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 19th Century, Boys Kissing, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27719746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaseybaby/pseuds/kaseybaby
Summary: “I understand you.” Peter snapped his head back up to the older man and looked at him with a bit of shock and confusion.“What do you mean you understand me? You can’t understand this.” Peter had turned to face the party by now but kept his eye contact with Tony.“But I do. I understand because I feel the same exact way. I’m in the same predicament, you see.”“You know we could get in a lot of trouble on the off chance people find out that we think this way?”“Yes of course, but I’ve never passed up the chance for risk. We could just chat and be friends, we don’t have to do anything. I find you quite charming.”✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧or peter and tony fall in love when they’re not supposed to
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	A Thorned Rose Called Love

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading!!  
> no tw  
> enjoy!!!!

“Don’t slouch, Peter,” His mother reprimanded from his bed. He straightened out but still kept his expression. He did not want to go to the gala. No matter how much his mother pushed him to, he wouldn’t find his bride tonight. Every year since he was sixteen, she pushed him to go to these horrendous functions that were hosted by the elites, and attended by leeches. And every year he came home single. Now that he was twenty, these things were getting harder and harder to drag himself to. “We’ll go with a red tie tonight, Martha.” The maid quickly found the tie and put it on Peter. She worked swiftly and efficiently before taking a step back and looking at the floor in respect. “Thank you dear, that will be enough.” She exited the boys room and shut the door behind her. 

“Must we go through all of this trouble when we know how the night will end, mother?” Peter was already starting to feel antsy in this outfit. He’d much rather stay at home with a nice book than out trying to appeal to the desperate women of Northern England. She sighed before standing and walking closer to him. 

“Your father and I just want the best for you. We don’t want you to be a bachelor your entire life. We want to ensure that we have someone to pass the business down to when we’re gone.” Running a successful high fashion company, his parents had made it big. They were filthy stinking rich. Peter had all he could ever ask for. He had friends, or at least people that liked to hang around him because of his status, and he’d met so many important people, yet he still felt this longing. The secrets that he held with him and the one that he would take to the grave, haunted him. But he never allowed himself to dwell over things like that. He just kept moving forward, hoping that he would find a girl that his parents approved of so he could make them happy and proud. So far, that plan wasn’t really working out. 

“I understand mother, but do you really think that I’ll find her in this town if I haven’t found her already?” Their town was the perfect size. Not large but not small. The people knew everything about each other, and loved to keep up with the small gossip that came and went. Even so, people travelled far to come to his parents' business and buy their clothes. 

“You never know if you just haven’t made the right spark yet, love.” They sat in a small silence before a knock came at the door. “Yes?” 

“It’s currently seven thirty, ma’am. The carriage has arrived.” Maria reported. His mother thanked the woman before looking over her son again. 

“You look so handsome, dear. This night will be magical.” She said that every year, yet Peter just nodded and followed her reluctantly to the door. 

➢➣➢➣

Peter nursed a small glass of gin as he watched as people mingled and talked about different subjects. Some came to network while others were there for the same reasons that Peter was being forced to be there. He took a small sip of the strong drink before seeing that his mother was talking to another woman. They looked deep in conversation so he couldn’t go to her for help. He’d just have to stick it out and get through this entire hellish night by himself. He looked away and spotted a curly haired blonde who wore a navy blue evening dress. She had a smile on her face and was searching the room also. Peter wondered why she was there. She locked eyes with him and her smile widened. Peter matched her grin before giving her a small wave. She returned the gesture before starting to make her way over to him. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit that his hands got a bit clammy as she came. 

“You’re far too handsome to be standing her alone, don’t you think.” Peter gulped before answering. 

“This is coming from the woman that looks absolutely gorgeous tonight.” She giggled at the compliment. Peter had never been good at flirting so he was surprised when that quip came easy for him. 

“I’m Elizabeth. You can call me Betty though.” She stuck out her hand and he shook it. 

“I’m Peter. You can call me Peter.” She laughed hard even though it wasn’t that funny and touched his shoulder gently. While Peter found her nice to aide the small boredom he felt, he knew the conversation that would come next. 

“Are you planning to get married any time soon?” She was one of those women that would practically beg to be betrothed to someone. He masked his sigh by taking a sip of his liquor. 

“No, no. Not right now. My mother wants me to but I’m still looking.” 

“Oh. Are you a bachelor?” 

“No, just haven’t found the right one yet.” 

“Well my mummy wants me to get married sometime soon also so I understand. You don’t want to wait too long though. We aren’t getting any younger.” He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation and needed an out. 

“I’ve got to use the restroom.” He sat his glass down quickly before walking towards the balcony. This happened every time he talked to a girl at one of these parties. They would talk about marriage or they would want to date him. He didn’t know why but the thought of dating a girl made him feel weird. It wasn’t something that enticed or interested him, no matter how hard he tried to persuade his brain to think otherwise. 

When he stepped outside and leaned his body over the railing, the cool air instantly calmed him and he let out a sigh of relief. “Not having fun in there?” The voice startled him and he jumped in surprise. 

“Good Lord, you scared me.” He breathed a little heavier before calming again. “No, not really. It’s too stuffy, too many people.” The stranger moved closer to the younger man before leaning the same way he was. 

“I’ve never liked those things either. People only want one thing and if you don’t want to give it to them, you don’t have any use.” The older man turned to look at him before speaking again. “I’m Tony.” 

“Peter. You don’t seem to be from here.” 

“My parents are Italian. I’ve lived here my whole life though.” Peter nodded before turning back. “I’m going to be honest, I was watching you from out here.” Peter scrunched his face up in confusion. 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know. Something about you drew me in. I’ve found that I can always tell who doesn’t want to be at one of these things and who does. You most certainly do not. Why is that besides the usual unnecessary nature of this all?” 

When it all boiled down to it, taking away the fear he had of committing to something that would ultimately fall apart, he just did not like girls. This was something that could get him killed. Something that could ruin his parents business if it were to ever come out. He believed the feelings started when he was a boy. Watching the men who worked down by the dock do their work and seeing their muscles flex and their sweat shine in the sun. something about this excited him in a way that no woman that all of his friends lusted over could. But with this realization had always come shame and fear. There was nothing he could do to stop these thoughts so he learned to ignore them all together and focus his energy on reading and science. Things that required a lot of focus and attention. This way his mind could only remain on that thing. But lately, these feelings had been hard to ignore. These nagging thoughts of lust and want had plagued his mind. He tried to keep himself distracted but even then he found himself thinking about men. 

“Um…” Um? That’s all his stupid brain could cme up with? The other man snickered. 

“Don’t like the selections? Some of these girls aren’t that good looking but some of them are. Must be quite picky if you can’t find a single one that you like.” Peter looked away. Tony knew that wasn’t the real reason. It had to be something else. And all of a sudden he was determined to get it out of him one way or another. “Is it the table cloths?” Peter chuckled before turning back to the other man. 

“I don’t know how to explain this to you without you finding me quite weird.” 

“Out with it! Don’t lead me on!” 

“It’s all of them in general. Girls. I don’t like any of them. Not just here, everywhere.” Tony nodded and looked away. He’d never believed in fate. Never considered it to be something that was real, just something in fairy tales that just happened to come at the perfect time and help things work out for all of the characters. But standing right now in front of this cute lad outside of a party, he felt a type of attraction to him. Something that he too had been struggling with for all his life. Instead of books and science like Peter, he focused his time on fixing things. He loved to see how things worked and had been taking things apart since he was a young boy. But now that he was older and more things were starting to come to fruition, he’d been concentrating on smaller projects and helping out his parents in any way that he could. His parents made their living by overseeing one of the bigger railroads in the country. So of course he got invited to things like this. Things that some people would find stupid but his parents found extremely important. They wanted grandchildren but Tony wasn’t ready to settle down with any broad just yet. He wanted to do other things before he was to be tied down. But if only he could thwart those feelings of lust for men that he could never have. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts. 

“I understand you.” Peter snapped his head back up to the older man and looked at him with a bit of shock and confusion. 

“What do you mean you understand me? You can’t understand this.” Peter had turned to face the party by now but kept his eye contact with Tony. 

“But I do. I understand because I feel the same exact way. I’m in the same predicament, you see.” 

“You know we could get in a lot of trouble on the off chance people find out that we think this way?” 

“Yes of course, but I’ve never passed up the chance for risk. We could just chat and be friends, we don’t have to do anything. I find you quite charming.” 

Peter thought for a moment. “Wouldn’t people talk?” 

“Who cares?” Something about this sparked a sort of happiness in Peter. This was someone who was carefree and didn’t seem to care about what other people thought. Peter was always thinking about his actions and how people would perceive them. Would something that he did ruin things for his parents? Would something that he said, mess up the business? These thoughts were constantly on the boy's mind. He carried the weight of so many things that sometimes she couldn’t relax. Couldn’t find time to feel at ease. 

“All right. I’ll come to your house ‘round noon tomorrow?” 

“Sure. I’ll send for a carriage to come to your house.” The two were excited. _Finally._ Tony thought, _someone who understands it._ When Peter spotted his mother looking around from inside the party, he knew that this magical time that he was having with Tony had to come to an end. He felt dread. Knowing that his mother would make a big deal out of the one girl that he talked to would be the death of him. But he’d have to face it. 

“I’ve got to meet my mother. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Before he could go, Tony gave him a kiss on the hand. When Peter walked away he held the kissed hand close to his body, never wanting to lose that feeling. 

➢➣➢➣

Just as he had expected, she was over the moon about Betty. Raving about what a beautiful girl she was and how she was so proud that they’d met each other. When he woke up around eleven, he rushed to get dressed. He cursed himself for sleeping in but still came out looking dashing when all was said and done. 

His parents sat quietly in the living room. While his father read the paper, his mother worked on designs. He told them he would be meeting a friend before running out of the door and to the carriage that was already waiting for him. The thought of Tony arranging something like this for Peter made him blush. 

The ride was mostly silent and when he arrived at the Stark Manner he couldn’t help but gasp. The trees and flowers crowded the front like a beautiful chaotic mess. Somehow it just worked. He found it to be serene and calming. A nice get away from the bustling scene of the city where his parents resided. Tony waited outside and waved when he saw him. When he got out the two exchanged a quick hug before going inside. 

“Your house is amazing, Tony.” 

“Oh, thanks. I’m sure my parents will love that. Let’s go to my room.” When they made it there, they sat on Tony’s bed. They kept their distance. “You like science.” 

“How’d you know?” Peter asked. 

“Did some reading up about you before you came over. You won that science contest for Oxford a couple years ago. You’re quite the intelligent chap, Peter.” He blushed and averted his eyes. Peter lightly punched Tony to which he returned. This ignited an entire wrestling match between the two and before they knew it, Tony was on top of Peter. The sexual tension was _strong._ The two breathing erratically and smiling. With Peter pinned under him the two could focus on each other's eyes. Tony found the most beautiful brown globes and couldn’t look away. While Peter found these dark mysterious beauties. 

Tony cleared his throat before getting off of him. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” Peter sat still for a moment before kissing Tony on the cheek. The smallest peck and Tony was already red as a tomato. 

“It’s okay.” Tony locked eyes with Peter before kissing him. He planned for it to be short and sweet like the peck that he had received on his cheek, but Peter had other plans. He held his cheek and pressed himself deeper into the other man. This was bliss. This was euphoria. This was the feeling that he hoped to never escape. Something that he never wanted to give up. He wanted Peter to stay here with him for the rest of their lives just so they could always feel like this. Peter pulled away. “What about your parents?” 

“They’re always away on business. We don't have to worry about them.” He rushed to feel his lips again and Peter gladly accepted. Tony could get used to this. 

➢➣➢➣

They frequently met up at different places and made a game out of trying to sneak kisses in when they could without getting in trouble. The library, stores, corners and alleyways. They hadn’t put a label on what they were and they didn’t plan to. They were living like a twenty year old and a twenty two year old should. 

After a walk around the city alone, Peter had made his way home only to be met with a big surprise: Betty. 

“Peter! What a delight that we’re finally getting to see each other! Your mother invited me over and of course I couldn’t say no.” He’s stunned for a second before his mother glares at him from the table. 

“Um- yes, it’s great to see you too, Betty!” he awkwardly hugged her as she embraced him tightly. Words could not describe his discomfort. “I apologize for not writing to you after the gala.” 

“There’s no need! I know that men have more important things to worry about than us women,” She was so complacent it was almost sickening. He felt bad for her. She’d meet a guy that didn’t care about her and never gave her the time of day because of her body and she’d just take it. “Shall we eat?” The food was already laid out by his mother. His father looked at him apologetically. He knew Peter hated to be surprised with things like this but his mother had insisted. 

The food was delicious and Peter thanked his mother as they all sat in an awkward silence. “So, Peter. You like to read?” 

“Yes I do.” 

“Do you like fiction?” 

“Some of it but I like books that are more focused on science.” The table returned to its original silence. It remained this way for a while. 

“Can I go get something from the kitchen please?” And here came fate again. That beautiful knight in shining armor that continued to ride in on her horse at just the right time. He just needed a break from the table and here Tony was outside their house. He opened the door in the kitchen and stepped outside. “What are you doing out here?” 

“I just couldn’t wait to see you and I thought I’d surprise you. Who’s visiting you?” 

“Betty. The girl from the gala. My parents want me to marry her but I hate her.” 

“Everything will be fine. All you have to do is pretend to have a bad time and eventually they’ll stop setting you up with these broads.” Peter nodded before leaning in to kiss him. It was passionate and deep, the feeling of comfort that this man emitted was unmatched. Something that he never saw himself feeling with anyone ever.

And then they heard a gasp. 

They pulled away instantly to be met with that same curly blonde hair. Her eyes were wide with shock as she backed away from the pair and ran out of the house. 

➢➣➢➣

It was dark here. The ceiling dripped with rain water and the floor was hard and hurt to sit on. They’d been here for hours. Or maybe it was days. They were all starting to blend together simultaneously. They’d held hands when the guards weren’t looking and they exchanged those looks of longing that Peter had read about in those romance books. Isn’t it odd? You wouldn’t have caught Peter dead with one of those books, but now that he had found Tony, he finished them in one sitting. He imagined himself and Tony instead of the main characters. He gushed to himself as he read the books at night and held himself, excited for the next day that he’d get to spend with him. 

But this was all over now. 

Betty told the next day and had the two arrested. Destroying the lives and businesses of their parents and permanently cementing herself as the princess that saved the town from the scary sinners. 

“Peter Parker and Tony Stark.” The officers decreed as the guards picked the two up and took them into the light. They flinched. People booed and shouted at them. Peter had never felt such shame. 

They tied them to the stake, back to back and started the flame. It surrounded them quickly but did not touch them for a moment. 

“Peter, I just want you to know that I love you and that I will always love you,” The crowd made it loud enough for them not to hear, but Peter could. “Nothing could ever keep me away from you, not even death. I will always be with you.” He groaned in agony as the flames reached his body. 

“I love you too. Forever. We shall meet again in another life, my love.” Peter tried to keep himself calm but the pain was slowly beginning to sink in. 

“I will always love you.” 

“And I will always love you.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!  
> let’s be friends  
> insta: bimbokasey


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